1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to an air-wiping device for dislodging particulates adhering to an elongated member by compressed air. This invention further relates to an air-wiping device, which allows the loading of said elongated member in one level sliding motion, which not only substantially reduces the loading time but also greatly saves the space normally taken up by the hinged, split open clamshell air-wiping devices.
2. Background
In the manufacturing of elongated products, such as the electrical wire, it is usually necessary to remove liquids from the surface of the wire, such as the wire emerging from a rinsing tank after pickling. This can best be done by compressed air which, when decompressed into a cylindrical device known as an air wipe with orifices directing the air tangentially and opposite to the wire movement, converts the potential energy of the compressed air into kinetic energy to blow away the liquid.
In this respect, the efficiency of the air-wiping device is of prime concern. The most efficient air-wiping device is the one configured in a one-piece cylinder having an inlet end and an outlet end for respectively receiving and passing the elongated product. This one-piece cylinder, which is configured in one integral tube, precludes any leakage that is detrimental to the efficiency of the device.
On the other hand, a one-piece cylindrical air-wiping device necessitates the temporarily stoppage of the elongated product in motion when loading it into the said air-wiping device, which adds to machine downtime. Therefore, hinged, split open clamshell air-wiping devices are created to allow loading without stoppage of the elongated product in motion.
These hinged, split open air-wiping device needs to swing open its top lid to load the elongated member in motion then reverse swing to close and wipe. These operations take time. The very need to load and unload by swinging the lid takes up otherwise space.